Chapter 97
The guardian warrior of the Wolf Tribe, Hrung-ga, was gazing at the horizon.
In his field of vision, clouds of dust spreading from afar caught his eye.
The anticipation that always surged before a battle started to boil within him.
Erich, who noticed the excited look on Hrung-ga's face, spoke to him.
[Even Hrung-ga, who always said he wanted to die gloriously, gets nervous, I see.]
[Erich, aren't you even a little nervous in this situation?]
[Well. Maybe I've just gotten too used to it. I'm not sure I even know what that feels like anymore.]
Hrung-ga let out a small laugh. But Erich noticed there was something subtle beneath Hrung-ga's laughter.
[It can't be that you're scared with the enemy right before your eyes. Are you worried about something?]
[Worried, huh.]
[If you die with worries sitting in your mind, you'll only regret it more.]
[You make it sound like I'm doomed to die.]
[If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. I was only trying to help.]
Hrung-ga glanced sidelong at Erich for a moment before resting his hand on the head of the Dire Wolf beside him with its tail lowered.
[Erich, I want to fight the Bear Tribe.]
[Out of nowhere? Wasn't that already settled?]
Erich's brow furrowed.
From the start, according to what Shadow had conveyed, Grossnak was already preparing to betray them.
While Erich's unit held off the black wolves and the bear tribe, they would quickly wipe out Ungrim's army with an ambush, then Grossnak would charge in after seeing Erich's unit being destroyed.
That way, Grossnak would get everything he wanted in this battle.
Not only could he eliminate Hrung-ga, who was a threat to his son's succession, he could also get rid of those 'hated crows' while establishing himself as the chieftain who brought prosperity to the tribe.
But Erich had already prepared a variable that would thoroughly twist his plan.
He had secretly informed the bear tribe and opened a path toward Grossnak.
With this, Erich's unit, who would otherwise have had to fight two against one, would be freed from the bear tribe.
Then, the bear tribe would surround Grossnak from behind.
Erich could then face the black wolves one-on-one, messing with Grossnak and making the situation just as he wanted it.
The next stage of Erich's plan was that after defeating the black wolf tribe faster than anyone, he would immediately attack the bear tribe together with Grossnak's main force from both front and rear.
Of course, this plan required that Erich's unit had to defeat the black wolf tribe faster than anyone else.
And it relied on the premise that the bear tribe could not arrive before Ungrim's force had been crushed by Grossnak's white wolf tribe.
That's why Erich had taken several precautions in advance.
But even so, Hrung-ga felt uneasy about this plan. Erich couldn't figure out why. Then Hrung-ga spoke.
[... Erich, do you remember why the bear tribe opposes me?]
[Something about your status, wasn't it?]
[That's right. But they have another reason as well. If they were to ask me whether I defeated Laboon honorably, the truth is, I didn't.]
Erich's eyes narrowed. Was there a hidden story behind all this? Did Hrung-ga, as the bear tribe said, use some cowardly tactic?
Hrung-ga spoke in a low voice.
[It's true that I defeated Laboon. But at the moment of awakening, Laboon wasn't vigilant. He turned his back to me.]
[... And you stabbed him in the back without hesitation?]
[That's right. A true warrior shouldn't have done that. Maybe I shouldn't have become a guardian warrior at all. Maybe even I was drawn into Grossnak's schemes.]
It was clear that Hrung-ga cared deeply about that incident.
Perhaps, though he called himself a guardian warrior, he was never fully confident himself.
Was he really the one who beat Laboon with skill alone?
Hrung-ga was doubting himself. Erich thought, perhaps Hrung-ga's fierce hatred for the fake headhunters stemmed from his own self-reproach.
'A fake. That's what he's fixated on.'
Hrung-ga was considering himself a fake. He might even have fought all the more fiercely to shake off those thoughts.
However, Erich let out a hollow chuckle at Hrung-ga's confession.
[I thought it was something serious.]
[Erich, I truly mean this. I have to settle things with the bear tribe. With my own hands, with the tribe's chieftain who is said to be a warrior as strong as Laboon....]
[Hrung-ga. I don't know what it means coming from me, a crow, but in my opinion, none of that matters.]
[What do you mean?]
Hrung-ga hardened his brow. It sounded as though Erich was taking his words lightly.
But Erich rested his hand comfortably on the sword at his waist and spoke.
[Hrung-ga, do you know what I think is the core of your guardian warrior culture?]
[... And what do you think it is?]
[That you survived.]
[...]
[It's not about killing someone great. The guardian warrior is the one who fights and survives. Laboon didn't. But you did. That's all there is to it. That's why you became a guardian warrior.]
A heavy shadow cast across both Hrung-ga's eyes. Lost in thought, Hrung-ga answered.
[You're saying I'm qualified?]
[It'd be laughable for an outsider like me to talk about who deserves to be a guardian warrior. There's only one thing I can say. If you're still bothered, I'll leave the bear tribe's chieftain or whoever in your hands. Go have a glorious fight.]
[... Your words really do melt away worries like snow, Erich.]
[You're not suited to brooding over things, Hrung-ga.]
Hrung-ga blinked at Erich's words for a moment.
As he was trying to decide whether that was an insult or not, Hrung-ga suddenly burst out in loud laughter.
[Ha ha ha! You're right!]
Hrung-ga certainly thought so himself. Complicated thoughts just didn't suit him.
With that, Hrung-ga tightened his grip on the axe in his hand.
*
Haratan, the chieftain of the Black Wolf Tribe, glared at the Watch's formation with narrowed eyes. In this situation, he felt two things were off.
The first was that he could see barbarians among their ranks.
The other was that the bear tribe's barbarians were nowhere in sight.
'... They definitely should have joined up by now.'
Haratan gritted his teeth, revealing thick fangs. He couldn't help thinking the bear tribe never did anything right.
A barbarian clad in wolf pelts spoke to Haratan.
[Haratan, what do we do? Will we be enough on our own?]
[... Wait. I'm thinking.]
Blood-spattered, Haratan's eyes flashed menacingly, prompting the barbarian who addressed him to step back.
'I purposely waited for the bear tribe to arrive, but at this rate...'
Haratan kept turning things over in his mind. If their forces couldn't break through those crows, Ungrim's troops might be ambushed by the white wolves first. If that happened, the plan would fall apart from the very start.
However,
He also didn't want to start the fight himself and let the bear tribe reap all the benefits.
Right now, though they were nominally on Ungrim's side, the bear tribe was never keen on the wolf tribe.
Once the White Wolf Tribe was gone, the next war would surely be against those very same bears.
'.......'
While he was lost in this dilemma,
At that moment, dust rose up behind them. Haratan smirked immediately.
It was a clear sign that the bear tribe was headed their way.
[That's it. Warriors, prepare to charge. When the bears arrive, we will advance together!]
[Oooh!]
But soon after, Haratan's eyes lost their focus. The group of the bear tribe who seemed to be approaching suddenly veered off onto another path.
[Those, those cowards!]
[The bear tribe has broken their word!]
The Black Wolf tribe's barbarians shouted in outrage. At the unexpected turn of events, everyone was both angry and bewildered.
Haratan gritted his teeth and thought to himself.
'... So in the end, we were just waiting for a chance to betray each other.'
If, in this situation, the bear tribe swung around behind and struck the White Wolf Tribe—Grossnak's main force—the situation would overwhelmingly favor the bear tribe.
The Black Wolf Tribe would have to bear the brunt of casualties, and only the bear tribe, who would have attacked together with Ungrim's forces, would remain unscathed.
If so, the hegemony of the north would end up in the hands of the bear tribe.
Haratan was in a bind. He couldn't back off, nor could he advance.
'Damn it...!'
Faced with a no-win choice, Haratan's worries grew ever deeper.
But right then,
Haratan reached a conclusion and raised his greatsword to the sky.
[Warriors of the Black Wolves! Advance!]
It was time to attack. According to Haratan's calculations, there was still a chance if they finished off the crows before the bear tribe could benefit.
And if it came to it, they could even ambush the bear tribe from behind.
Finally, when there were only about twenty paces left to the Watch's formation, the barbarians stopped.
They reformed their ranks and got ready to charge all at once.
Haratan checked that the enemy hadn't moved at all, then shot another glance at his own warriors.
And Haratan's greatsword rose to the sky.
[Charge!]
The words had barely left his mouth before the fevered barbarians rushed en masse towards the Watch's phalanx.
But just as the black wolf wave was about to sweep over the Watch—
― Kwajijik!
The barbarians at the front fell straight into deep pits in the ground. Haratan's eyes narrowed.
'... A trap?'
But Haratan couldn't understand. The enemy must have known the Black Wolf and Bear Tribes would attack together.
Digging traps and not moving at all was as good as inviting them to surround them as they pleased.
They must have thought it was a two-pronged attack.
But right then, something flashed through Haratan's mind.
'... What if they already knew the bear tribe wouldn't be coming this way?'
How? That question struck Haratan hard. He looked to the pits where the black wolf warriors were dying, crushed under their own comrades.
Even so, the Black Wolf Tribe's warriors still far outnumbered the enemy.
Traps were unexpected, but this alone wasn't a critical reversal.
Haratan hefted his greatsword and stepped forward.
A hammer was needed to break their solid formation. Haratan decided that he himself would be that hammer.
But at that moment—
[Ugh!]
[Kahk!]
Screams sounded from behind Haratan. Something was clearly happening at the rear.
[What's going on back there...!]
Haratan looked around warily. But his warriors were still stationed in the rear, and nothing seemed seriously wrong.
Just then, at the edge of his vision, he caught a glimpse of a man with curly black hair curling his lips in a smile.
A smile as if everything was going according to plan. That ominous feeling made Haratan freeze.
And right then—
A louder sound rose up from behind.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】